American Pegula supported Arina Sobolenko’s refusal to communicate with the press at Roland Garros
American tennis player Jessica Pegula supported the decision of the Belarusian Arina Sabalenko to refuse to communicate with the press after the second round match of Roland Garros. Her words are quoted by the BBC.
“She was bombarded with questions about the situation in Ukraine and the role of Belarus in this. She clearly felt that she had had enough. I think this is her right, ”said the athlete. She added that tennis players need to communicate with the press, but they need to feel safe.
On June 3, another American, Sloane Stevens, supported Sobolenko’s refusal to participate in an open post-match press conference. Instead, the Belarusian athlete spoke to a group of media professionals selected by the tournament organizers.
On May 28, Sobolenko defeated Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk in the first round of the Roland Garros tournament (6:3, 6:2). After the game, the Ukrainian refused to shake hands with her opponent, for which the fans booed her. Sobolenko said that she could imagine the reaction of the Ukrainian side, therefore, she does not consider the act to be disrespectful to her personally.
Roland Garros takes place in Paris from May 28 to June 10. Russian and Belarusian athletes take part in the tournament in a neutral status.
Source: Lenta
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